11/6/16

Today let’s look at the free agent class in terms of
fortifying the bench. Gone (hopefully))
are the days of fringy AAAA players and has-beens who are not going to help
much in a pinch, let alone if pressed into playing for an extended period of
time due to injury. While nearly everyone is on board with the idea of signing
Kelly Johnson directly instead of trading for him for a third straight season,
who else is out there that might contribute when needed? I see three that jump to mind immediately:

Buttressing the Bench

Steve Pearce – the erstwhile Oriole combined between
Baltimore and Tampa Bay to produce 13 HRs and 35 RBIs while batting .288 in 264
ABs. He had performed well as a
semi-regular his last time around in Baltimore with a 2014 season yielding 21
HRs, 49 RBIs and a .293 average over 338 ABs.
The right handed hitting Pearce can play OF, 1B and 2B. He last earned $4.75 million and is a free
agent for the first time.

Dae-Ho Lee – the Mariners took a flyer on a 34 year old player
from Korea and were rewarded with 292 ABs showing good power. He hit just .253, but slugged 14 HRs and
drove in 49. The big right handed
veteran plays 1B and earned just $1 million in his first year in the
majors.

Rajai Davis – the mighty base-stealer is probably looking to
start, though his role of late has been that of 4th outfielder. The Mets haven’t had a stellar baserunning
threat since Eric Young departed. With
Jose Reyes likely starting that means having someone like Davis available off
the bench could help. Of course, with
his timely and unexpected HR to tie the 7th game of the World
Series, he’s got a higher profile than any other moment in his career. Although he slugged a career high 12 HRs this
year, it’s his league leading 43 SBs that catches everyone’s eye (doubly
impressive at the age of 35). Cleveland
paid him $5.2 million last year.

Other Cubans?

Jose
Miguel Fernandez – a 23 year old Cuban defector who is not subject to any
compensation picks, he hit .326 with an outstanding OBP with very few
strikeouts. Predictions are he’s going
to get a 3 year deal worth about $6 million per year. Whether or not the Mets should be interested
again hinges on David Wright’s health.
He’s played 2B and 3B, positions also covered by Jose Reyes, TJ Rivera,
Wilmer Flores and Neil Walker (if he’s in the picture). It would be better if he could handle
CF. Interesting, but not a great fit.

Lourdes
Gourriel – brother of highly touted now Astro Yulieski Gourriel, Lourdes
hit .344 in Cuba playing the outfield.
Just 23 years old, the talk is he will likely first approach the Astros
about joining big brother in Houston, but most feel he will have enough power
to command a corner outfield position on nearly any team. Estimates peg him to be worth 6 years/$72
million. When you look at the stats,
remember the Cuban season is about half as many ABs as the American baseball
season.

Trade Target

Although not a free agent, a good buy-low candidate is the
Washington Nationals’ center fielder, Ben Revere. Ben lost his starting job when he was slow to
recover from injury and now he appears superfluous to the NL East champs. Ben is a speedy baserunner and until last
year a solid hitter with a career mark of .285 who has stolen as many as 48
bags in a single season. He’ll play 2017
as a 29 year old and I could see him in CF flanked by some combination of Jay
Bruce, Curtis Granderson, Michael Conforto and (dare I say it) Yoenis
Cespedes. He’s arbitration eligible this
year after playing for $6.25 million last year.
I can’t see him getting a raise given his .217 season and having lost
his starting job. Given they only have
one more year of control, he might be readily available in trade even to a
division rival.

The Pirates reportedly are interested in moving McCutchen to save salary, and coming off a poor (for him) season they'd be selling low. I could see him in CF or RF, and he's under contract for a few years.

Another guy I'd look at is Angel Pagan, who is a FA. If he doesn't get a QO, He's worth checking into. Switch hitter with goodspeed and decent pop, he could back up all 3 OF spots as well as PH.

If it takes that much, forget it. But I'd still explore it. Before the deals were made, did anyone think we could get Keith for Neil Allen/Rick Ownbey? How about Olerud for Robert Person? Or the guys we gave up for Carter?